Congressman Keating laments Washington dysfunction

Rich Eldred

Friday

Aug 31, 2018 at 5:10 PMSep 1, 2018 at 5:19 PM

Bill Keating likes to vote. That’s why he ran for congress in 2010 and he’d like to tackle issues like immigration reform, healthcare, taxes, guns and more but bills are forever bottled up by the system in Washington as the summer lazily drifts by.

“Congress is a winner take all system,” he explained. “The party in the majority is in absolute control. Their leadership decides if a bill even comes to the floor or if there is a debate. They control the horizontal. They control the vertical.”

That last was a quote from the old TV show The Outer Limits, which dates Keating but most of the audience probably got it.

“It’s the same for either party,” Keating conceded. “But in this congress we broke the record for closed legislation.”

More bills than ever were written without hearings or general input Keating said. He argued opening up the process could solve issues like immigration reform and border control.

“DACA is a good example of that. If a clean DACA bill hit the floor of congress today it would probably get 70 percent of member votes. All we’re saying is put it on the floor for a vote. Let democracy happen,” Keating said. “In 2013 the Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform, Senator McCain was a co-sponsor, 60 to 70 percent of the Senate supported it. But it never hit the floor (in the house).”

DACA is Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the executive order by then President Barack Obama. The policy has since been stuck in the courts.

: Keating has represented the Massachusetts 9th congressional district since 2010. The district includes all of Cape Cod and rages up the coast from Fall River to Norwell. Prior to that he was a district attorney. Like many of his fellow Democrats he believes the current administration has gone too far.

“Something bigger is going on here. Our country is the only one in history founded on an idea; that together we could do something great, that everyone deserved a fighting chance,.” Keating proclaimed.

But he sees the country’s democratic institutions and freedoms as under assault.

“Those freedoms are under attack like they’ve never been before in my lifetime,” Keating declared. “Look at what’s happening to the freedom of religion. People of Muslim faith, by executive order, are shut out of our country. I heard on the news the President is thinking of firing the Attorney General. Think of what is happening in terms of freedom of the press. The term fake news – where did that come from? All of our core freedoms are being challenged right now but we’re still a democracy and have the ability to act.”

Keating took written questions from the attendees, the queries delivered by state rep Sarah Peake. Besides immigration people were concerned about healthcare.

“I think everyone here supports universal healthcare and we want that,” Keating opined. “But that does not mean we shouldn’t do the most we can in the present. If we can’t get to one point now we should do the most we can. People are in need right now. There are 4.6 million people that, when the Trump Administration began had health care that no longer have healthcare.”

“In Massachusetts only two and a half percent of the people are uninsured, and that’s not (insured) with just a policy but a good policy. Mass Health is better than some policies out there.”

Keating noted the adminstration has been chipping away at “Obamacare”, removing the individual mandate, eliminating cost sharing, cutting the enrollment period and help and advertising.

“They’re undercutting even what we do in Massachusetts with the tax bill,” he said. “The Trump budget wants to cut $1.5 trillion from Medicaid. Two thirds of the people in nursing homes are funded with Medicaid. They are not going to stay open. People in rural areas will lose the closest healthcare they can get. This is happening.”

And that’s not all he went on.

“A Republican leader from Ohio was asked how we’ll fund the deficit now. He said by cutting Medicare and Social Security. They believe Social Security and Medicare are socialism and should be done on the private side,” Keating said. “Social security can be fixed. I’m a sponsor of a bill that can do it. It is one of the more attainable things we can do. We can make it solvent into the next century. It is a myth this cannot be solved.”

Hopefully it will be solved. Keating does have an opponent in the democratic primary (Sept. 4) Bill Cimbrello and his future Republican foe Peter Tedeschi of Pembroke, is running unopposed next week. His grandfather Angelo founded the Tedeschi food store chain in 1923 and Peter is the current CEO.

No doubt Tedeschi and Keating will discuss the economy and tax cuts if they debate. Keating was critical of the tax cuts on Tuesday arguing they funded stock buybacks and not employee raises.

“Over one third of the owners of stock are foreign entities so that big tax break is going right out of the country. We could have reduced the top rate to 25 percent and made it much more revenue neutral without putting us in a $2.4 trillion hole. But did they have a hearing on the bill? Not one hearing,” he said returning to his original theme.

“‘Things will change,” he promised. “Put it on the floor and let the people who voted for you know where you stand on an issue.”